This is a spilt off the SDS200 waterfall thread.
To Uniden.
Many of your in service scanners 436/536/100/200/992 are starting to show frequency drift. The dirft is usually only 300-1000hertz. This is enough to cause decode and channel capture issues for the end user. Especially on P25 Phase II and simulcast systems. Everyone must bear in mind there is nothing physically wrong with the hardware components and this is NOT a warranty item or defective component issue.. This is strictly a tuning/alignment issue caused by the natural aging of components.
What is needed and would be helpful for the whole scanning community would be a single standalone alignment utility for the scanners. This utility would allow the end user to net the receiver back on frequency. NOTHING else. The app should come with a disclaimer. "If used Uniden is not responsible for ANY issues caused by the use of the utility or the unit being off frequency, failing to operate properly due to the frequency setting or being adjusted improperly." It should also "highly recommend that the utility be only used by qualified technicians and not as a 'self help' solution. Furthermore a unit with a suspected frequency drift issue should be sent to a authorized service center for "lab" recalibration." These facilities have the test equipment to do a proper and complete alignment if required.
For emphasis the utility would ONLY allow the end user to adjust the 'reference oscillator' setting so that it is back on the center frequency the unit is programmed to. Many of us are seeing more and more posts where the possible/probable cause is the scanner is slightly off frequency. The amount of off frequency is small but has a huge impact on the hardware's performance. Typically 500hz is enough to start causing one or more of the symptoms below.
- poor or highly unreliable system lock with the squelch set at 2 or higher. This is really noticeable on 7/8/9 trunked systems (DMR/P25 and NXDN) and individual frequencies. Especially if the signal is not 'blasting in'.
- on trunked control channels system lock is achieved but no or intermittent migration to voice channels occurs
- on trunked systems certain TG's will be decoded properly on some system voice channels but not others. This results in intermittent or garbled decode on and off.
- during any frequency search the scanner will often bypass active frequencies going up in frequency but capture them going down in frequency (or vice versa).
- on Close Call the captured frequency is displayed one frequency step higher or lower. Very noticeable with step sizes of 5khz or similar
Units displaying these issues have been verified to be programmed properly and are using known tested and functioning configurations directly from the Sentinel (RR) database. This is a simple fixable issue and will result in improved performance for the customer base. It will significantly reduce customer complaints of poor or degrading performance. The customer base will see that Uniden is indeed proactive and wishes each user to have the best performance out of their hardware possible. This type of support will also translate into users upgrading hardware to higher capacity and featured products.
To Uniden.
Many of your in service scanners 436/536/100/200/992 are starting to show frequency drift. The dirft is usually only 300-1000hertz. This is enough to cause decode and channel capture issues for the end user. Especially on P25 Phase II and simulcast systems. Everyone must bear in mind there is nothing physically wrong with the hardware components and this is NOT a warranty item or defective component issue.. This is strictly a tuning/alignment issue caused by the natural aging of components.
What is needed and would be helpful for the whole scanning community would be a single standalone alignment utility for the scanners. This utility would allow the end user to net the receiver back on frequency. NOTHING else. The app should come with a disclaimer. "If used Uniden is not responsible for ANY issues caused by the use of the utility or the unit being off frequency, failing to operate properly due to the frequency setting or being adjusted improperly." It should also "highly recommend that the utility be only used by qualified technicians and not as a 'self help' solution. Furthermore a unit with a suspected frequency drift issue should be sent to a authorized service center for "lab" recalibration." These facilities have the test equipment to do a proper and complete alignment if required.
For emphasis the utility would ONLY allow the end user to adjust the 'reference oscillator' setting so that it is back on the center frequency the unit is programmed to. Many of us are seeing more and more posts where the possible/probable cause is the scanner is slightly off frequency. The amount of off frequency is small but has a huge impact on the hardware's performance. Typically 500hz is enough to start causing one or more of the symptoms below.
- poor or highly unreliable system lock with the squelch set at 2 or higher. This is really noticeable on 7/8/9 trunked systems (DMR/P25 and NXDN) and individual frequencies. Especially if the signal is not 'blasting in'.
- on trunked control channels system lock is achieved but no or intermittent migration to voice channels occurs
- on trunked systems certain TG's will be decoded properly on some system voice channels but not others. This results in intermittent or garbled decode on and off.
- during any frequency search the scanner will often bypass active frequencies going up in frequency but capture them going down in frequency (or vice versa).
- on Close Call the captured frequency is displayed one frequency step higher or lower. Very noticeable with step sizes of 5khz or similar
Units displaying these issues have been verified to be programmed properly and are using known tested and functioning configurations directly from the Sentinel (RR) database. This is a simple fixable issue and will result in improved performance for the customer base. It will significantly reduce customer complaints of poor or degrading performance. The customer base will see that Uniden is indeed proactive and wishes each user to have the best performance out of their hardware possible. This type of support will also translate into users upgrading hardware to higher capacity and featured products.
